Brazil-China trade will continue to flourish in 2015

RIO DE JANEIRO - Trade between Brazil and China in 2015 may reverse a downward trend as commodity prices are recovering and Brazil will export more manufactured goods to China, an expert told Xinhua in an exclusive interview recently.

Brazil-China trade dropped significantly in 2014, with Brazilian exports to China tumbling by more than 10 percent. However, the bilateral trade has bottomed out now, said Brazilian expert Carlos Tavares de Oliveira.

Tavares, author of nine books on China with the tenth expected next month, noted that the fall was due to special circumstances, namely a drop in the prices of commodities, which make up the bulk of Brazilian exports.

But commodity prices may rise this year - iron ore price has already recovered, he said.

"Trade with China is going well. There was a reduction in the price of commodities, of iron ore, soybeans and especially oil, but China will continue to be Brazil's main trade partner," he said.

Tavares believed that trade with China in 2015 will probably increase, with more manufactured Brazilian products being exported to China.

"There is a chance that the export of manufactured products will increase, so I do not believe in a decrease in the bilateral trade with China, because the international market is having a reaction," he said.

"The US increased its production and imports and so did the EU, so I ... do not believe in a decrease in international trade. It will at least stabilize and even increase slightly," said the expert.

Tavares recommended that the Bank of BRICS (the bloc of the five countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), whose creation was officially approved last year at a summit, should become operational as soon as possible in order to provide a boost to trade in the BRICS member countries.

Additionally, he said, Brazilian companies should pay more attention to the new free trade zone in Shanghai as it offers opportunities for them to enter the Chinese market or increase their presence there.

According to Tavares, pharmaceutical and beauty products, all sort of vegetable-based manufactured products and processed foods could benefit from the Shanghai free trade zone.

"Processed foods like corned beef and palm heart can be sold in China, as the country is a great importer of this sort of products. I think the Shanghai Free Trade Zone is a good initiative and must be explored, so is the BRICS Bank," he said.

"I am optimistic on the matter of international trade, and especially of the Brazil-China trade," he said.